Newbie in Muskoka Ontario Canada 04 MM black

[parallax_ca]

Just purchased :banana2:
... great car... have owned an ex caprice cop car (impala ss so to speak) and all 3 roadmaster wagons (caprice, olds and buick)... the MM is the most comfortable (though pacing vipers on the 400 was fun in a woody wagon!)

i understand the crossover tube is something to keep eyes out for... anyone?
any other MM specific things ?
thx!
gord

mine has a sunroof, trunk organizer, cd changer in the back
where/what is the better looking subtle spoiler?
gord
parallax@vianet.ca

[Ambitious1]

Welcome and Congratulations! I am sure you will love your new ride. OEM spoilers are hard to find. You can find aftermarket ones that look exactly like OEM on eBay and Amazon.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Unpainted-Ford-Crown-Victoria-Mercury-Marauder-Mercury-Grand-Marquis-Spoiler/123019831395?fits=Make%3AMercu ry%7CModel%3AMarauder&hash=item1ca48da863:g:dyIAAOSw T6pVsT9i

If your MM doesn't have a tune already, talk to Marty Ochs at https://www.mosspeedshop.com/ or message him here in this forum. He will help you with improving the factory shift points to a much more desirable set-up.

Most new owners do the usual mods of CAI, Tune, J-Mod, 4.10 gears and then go from there.

[MERCURY 2003LSE]

Hi Gord
Welcome to the forum .
Having a Marauder you need spares such as COT / Etc .
Hard to find parts here in Canada .

[crownvic97]

Welcome to the forum!

My personal opinion on the stock crossover is to delete it, they will all leak eventually. ON3 makes a COT delete kit that is excellent quality.

You can get the stock lip spoiler on EBay painted and unpainted, nothing looks better than the original style spoiler in my opinion.

[Agent2006]

Good tough cars overall:

1.cooling design of heads was not perfect so you can get a burnt valve towards the back
2.Watch for rust rockers/rear fender and if the doors don't drain
3.right rear axle bearings go out over many miles /takes the axle shaft with them
4.HVAC control panel O rings go out
5.lower Ball joints and upper control arm bushings -both cheap from Rock Auto
6.Window switches on driver door
7.Fuel pump after about 100,000 miles or running the tank on fumes all the time
8.clear coat flakes off the paint
9.Oil filter adapter section starts to leak
10.Strange current draw when the car is off can happen -I think a cheapo alarm system caused mine or made it worse
11.2004's have plastic timing chain guides that wear out
12. OEM radio cuts off -easy swap using a Ford Escape radio
13.Rear bumper cover gets stretched out over many high speed highway miles by the airstream underneath, there's a deflector panel you can make or buy to prevent this and zip tie it under there no one will see and your bumper cover won't sag.

other than those items pretty much a 300,000 mile car.

I drove a few LT1 chevys...these cars handle better, have way better seats, better interiors, about the same in quickness, with the chevy having more low end power (stock).

[decipha]

this has been a very informative post

i never knew the cross over tubes had issues

A couple days ago I thought that my right rear bearing may be going out

my oil filter adapter started leaking at 238k miles

13 - good to know, where can i order one?

[parallax_ca]

thank you ALL for your replies and fount of information!
not to be ignorant but can you explain the acronyms?
CAI, Tune, J-Mod, COT (cross over tube?)
and can someone comment on the SOLUTIONS to

1. cooling design of heads was not perfect so you can get a burnt valve towards the back >>> so.... what should one do?
3.right rear axle bearings go out over many miles /takes the axle shaft with them
>>> so... replace approx. when? and do both at same time?
4.HVAC control panel O rings go out
>>> how do you replace/repair or whatever... where ARE these o-rings?

5.lower Ball joints and upper control arm bushings -both cheap from Rock Auto
>>> how often, or replacment period.. .or just a warning to keep eyes open?

6.Window switches on driver door
>>> can use pretty well ANY ford switch, correct... just have to re-place them in the stock "holder", correct? is the holder (armrest part) somehting found on other models, just a different colour?

7.Fuel pump after about 100,000 miles or running the tank on fumes all the time
>> again, any preventative measures... or just dont let run empty or just replace at 100k?

9.Oil filter adapter section starts to leak
>>> anything one could do... get a remote filter setup or??

11.2004's have plastic timing chain guides that wear out
>>now that sounds like something that SHOULD be replaced... can do easily or might as well remove chain or??

12. OEM radio cuts off -easy swap using a Ford Escape radio
>> if you have the code right!?... any better radio?

13.Rear bumper cover gets stretched out over many high speed highway miles by the airstream underneath, there's a deflector panel you can make or buy to prevent this and zip tie it under there no one will see and your bumper cover won't sag.
>>> where can you get the deflector panel? (cap'tin, the rear deflectors are failin' (scotty)

thx again!

[decipha]

cai = cold air intake
tune = reprogram ecu, either with quarterhorse or xcal
these cars shift horribly on the stock tune
j-mod can be found on tccoa.com, its drilling holes in the transmission valve body to boost line pressure to firm up the shifts. J stands for the guys name Jerry. Hes a retired ford engineer.
cot i assume same as you, first i ever heard it here

1) head cooling mod
3) sounds like it should be replaced every 50-100k miles
I have 248k miles on mine and Im just learning of this
yep always work in pairs, suspension and brakes

4) Ive been doing residential and automotive hvac 15 years never heard of this, only thing i can think is the vac actuators on the head unit. If it leaks youll hear it whistling and the actuators wont work properly causing air to blow on the windshield instead of out the dash... but just a guess.

5) look under there and grab the wheel and shake it to see if it has any play

6) the switch pops out the housing and you can replace it. The door trim isnt part of the switch.

7) always good to fill up at half a tank on any vehicle

9) only thing u can do is fix it when it leaks. Mine has been seeping for years but just started leaving drips on the driveway about 8 months ago.

11) youll hear a clicking noise mostly at first start up when they go bad its usually always due to running an aftermarket oil filter. Motorcraft is the only filter that has an anti drain check valve preventing dry start ups. All others leak down and cause tensioner failure due to no oil at start up.

12) I like my pioneer bluetooth if your ok with aftermarket

---------------------

13) First I heard of it. Can anyone post a pic of such or post a link where I may order one of these rear bumper deflectors too?

[Turbov6Bryan]

11. He is wrong, it's not a plastic guide that fails.
2003 TENSIONERS are iron and do not tend to leak oil as the 2004 plastic tensioners do.
This causes start up rattle and guide wear.
Both years of mm (Mercury Marauder) will eventually need replacement timing components, and the majority of the group says go with iron 03 tensioners and ford oem chain guides
Mine has 180k and makes a bit of start up noise, but it's going good so far...

[RubberCtyRauder]

google eatc o ring replacement, plenty of videos.


Ford escape radio audiophile unit from 05-07 escape or mercury mariner is plug and play, no code needed..trunk mount cd wont work but it has a 6 disc in dash changer so moot point.


COT cross over tube, if yours is rusted bad, watch for ones for sale here the go quick mostly..they get pricey$250 plus


google search rear head cooling mod


2003 axles shafts were prone to wear due to poor heat treatment


run 36 lbs air in front tires and 38-40 in rear for better wear.

[03Rauder]

Definitely get a tune from Mo at Mo's Speed Shop! Completely changes the way the car drives. He is awesome to deal with as well.

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forum from a fellow Canadian Marauder owner!

[Agent2006]

https://mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103255

[Ambitious1]

The tune will make your MM shift better and operate more efficiently. Most of us here have gone to Marty Ochs at www.mosspeedshop.com He is a trusted source for tunes and other MM questions.

The MM shares the same engine as the Mach 1 Mustang which suffered from the issue of the rear cylinders #4, and #8, not getting enough coolant and causing the infamous ticking later on. The Cooling Mod was developed to counter this. This is advisable whether or not you have the ticking sound, since it is a matter of when, not if, it will occur:

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=100702

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=99920

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=93567&page=6



Some members on this forum may have them for sale or you can find them here:

https://www.lethalperformance.com/ford-mach-1-mustang/03-04-mustang-mach-1/cooling/even-flow-cooling-mod

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LFP-EVEN-FLOW-GENERATION-2-HEAD-COOLING-MOD-4v-03-04-MARAUDER-NEW-AUTHENTIC-/390655942413



The EATC will eventually fail due to the "O" rings. Contact FastBlackMerc on this forum. He can fix it for you for a low price. He fixed two of mine. Or if you want to try it yourself:

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=80673


The Cold Air Intake (CAI) is something that will help your engine breathe better. Most go with the K&N or the JLT option:

https://www.knfilters.com/cold_air_intake/mercury_marauder.aspx

https://www.jlttruecoldair.com/ZenCart/index.php?main_page=product_in fo&products_id=65



The J-Mod is a nice mod:

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=54024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbIAKfhrdV0

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=83874


If your Coolant Crossover Tube (COT) goes bad and you can't find a replacement, the COT Delete is an option from ON3 Perfomance:

http://www.on3performance.com/shop/on-3-performance-coolant-crossover-delete-2-port/

[04Mistress]

Just wanted to say hello and I am glad I found this group. So much helpful info.

I am not a "car-guy", but appreciate the glory of the mm. Never had a car like it. I have many friends who do speak the language and will rely on them as well as this group.

I have an 04 in show condition with 48k. Looking at 2 trophies won from shows attended by previous original owner. I hope to bring it to a show in the future.

Bought last week from dealer. While I have many questions, right now number 1 is - I have only one key and a fob, and do not have the code for the keyless door pad entry. Manual says it is on a sticker on the computer - is that the PCM mentioned in other posts? Is it easily accessible?

My other option is contact the previous owner, but I have not found his number yet. Then there is the dealer, who seemed too busy to hook it up to their system to retrieve the code - I hear it is around $100 to do so.

I'll have more questions later!

Thanks!

Scott

[Invective]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it my grand pappy used to say!?!? (sarc)

These cars have a good rep over all and probably won’t leave you stranded anywhere. Typical 'car issues’ for this genre. Some of these posts would leave one to believe you will leave a trail of parts behind you before the car burst into flames - ain’t gonna happen.

I’m in the process of arranging to have the Jmod, transmission tail shaft lubrication mod and the cylinder head cooling mod done. K&N CAI arrived today and is sitting on my couch. SCT X4 Tuner is sitting on a stool next to me at the moment. Awaiting a refurbished Windows laptop to arrive so I can purchase a custom tune from MartyO and load it into my SCT device.

This is what I’m dreaming about:

http://adtr.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ADTR_MM_Supercharger_2-500x500.jpg


http://adtr.net/product/mercury-marauder/adtr-marauder-supercharger-system/





thank you ALL for your replies and fount of information!
not to be ignorant but can you explain the acronyms?
CAI, Tune, J-Mod, COT (cross over tube?)
and can someone comment on the SOLUTIONS to

1. cooling design of heads was not perfect so you can get a burnt valve towards the back >>> so.... what should one do?
3.right rear axle bearings go out over many miles /takes the axle shaft with them
>>> so... replace approx. when? and do both at same time?
4.HVAC control panel O rings go out
>>> how do you replace/repair or whatever... where ARE these o-rings?

5.lower Ball joints and upper control arm bushings -both cheap from Rock Auto
>>> how often, or replacment period.. .or just a warning to keep eyes open?

6.Window switches on driver door
>>> can use pretty well ANY ford switch, correct... just have to re-place them in the stock "holder", correct? is the holder (armrest part) somehting found on other models, just a different colour?

7.Fuel pump after about 100,000 miles or running the tank on fumes all the time
>> again, any preventative measures... or just dont let run empty or just replace at 100k?

9.Oil filter adapter section starts to leak
>>> anything one could do... get a remote filter setup or??

11.2004's have plastic timing chain guides that wear out
>>now that sounds like something that SHOULD be replaced... can do easily or might as well remove chain or??

12. OEM radio cuts off -easy swap using a Ford Escape radio
>> if you have the code right!?... any better radio?

13.Rear bumper cover gets stretched out over many high speed highway miles by the airstream underneath, there's a deflector panel you can make or buy to prevent this and zip tie it under there no one will see and your bumper cover won't sag.
>>> where can you get the deflector panel? (cap'tin, the rear deflectors are failin' (scotty)

thx again!

[Turbov6Bryan]

This is what I’m dreaming about:

http://adtr.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ADTR_MM_Supercharger_2-500x500.jpg


http://adtr.net/product/mercury-marauder/adtr-marauder-supercharger-system/

I picked up a silver birch with a vortech v2 about 2.5 years ago. It gets allllll the attention at shows and while driving. That blower whine is amazing.
Here is my video of the vortech car... that whistle lol :)

https://youtu.be/tOlKSqlZDZ4

[Invective]

I picked up a silver birch with a vortech v2 about 2.5 years ago. It gets allllll the attention at shows and while driving. That blower whine is amazing.
Here is my video of the vortech car... that whistle lol :)

https://youtu.be/tOlKSqlZDZ4

Wow…louder that I had imagined. How is it at highway speeds with the windows up?

[Turbov6Bryan]

Wow…louder that I had imagined. How is it at highway speeds with the windows up?

Perfectly fine, i drove it back 1900 miles and it was silent. Its louder at idle because the boost is being discharged instead of ingested.

That type of blower is loud at idle anyway, its a dead giveaway for car guys lol

[justbob]

Perfectly fine, i drove it back 1900 miles and it was silent. Its louder at idle because the boost is being discharged instead of ingested.



That type of blower is loud at idle anyway, its a dead giveaway for car guys lol



You don’t say? [emoji6]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk